Life

Gardening advice: Seven tips for growing herbs, whether in containers or open space

A pot of mint
A pot of mint A pot of mint

1 Small spaces: Tim Evans of Wyevale Garden Centres, whose herbs are all UK-grown, advises that, in small spaces "you won't want any more than three herbs in the same pot because otherwise they will compete with one another."

2 Combinations: "Try to select a combination of woody herbs with seed-raised ones - have a rosemary, which you'll use regularly [when] roasting lamb or chicken, curly parsley and chives. They can go into a container together and just replant them once every two years," Evans suggests.

"The rosemary will keep going, the chives and the parsley will slow during the cooler months, but should come back."

"Invest in a standard bay tree – there's all you need for Bolognese and other Italian cooking, and it's also architectural, as well as a food source."

Other combinations might include a selection of thymes, which are low-growing, and sages, which are quite high, he suggests. Choose colour contrasts, pairing lemon thymes with common thymes and purple sage.

3 Seed or plant: Herbs easily grown from seed include sweet basil, salad rocket, dill, coriander, chives, fennel, lovage, chervil and caraway. Ones you may have to buy as plants, include lemon balm, curry plant, mint, rosemary, sage, bay and French tarragon.

4 Compost: The best compost for growing herbs in containers is John Innes No. 3, says Evans. "It's got soil and loam in it, which doesn't dry out as quickly as peat-based compost".

5 Pot size: Windowsill troughs shouldn't be much smaller than 30cm and twice the depth of the pot which the herb comes in," he adds. "Don't let plants become too congested."

6 A sunny spot: As many herbs enjoy hot, dry conditions and well-drained fertile soil, your herb garden is best off in a sunny south-facing position – as close to the kitchen as possible – with added protection from north and east winds. If your soil is heavy, dig in some grit to improve drainage and you should achieve better results.

7 Keep invasive herbs potted: Beware of planting invasive plants such as mint and lemon balm straight into the ground. Leave them in pots if you want to keep them contained.